[Vision2020] Vision2020 Digest, Vol 33, Issue 63

[roger hayes]

>
Garrett,
Thanks for the comments. If Semanko testifies in favor of passing 
SB1002, it will be a done deal. I think we should then return to local 
politics and oust GMA figures from our city council and state offices 
as not keeping the best interests of the city of Moscow in mind. Notice 
Wayne Krause moved out of his business and now works for Toyota across 
the state line. I don't know what Steed will get for his involvement, 
but it must be good because he has spent a year+ pushing for this. As 
for Busch, it is easy to see what he gets. Most frightening thing is, 
they all probably think they are doing the "right" thing...visions of 
Post Falls to Spokane Valley malls dancing in their heads.

For Mr. Semanko, one difference between the Snake River aquifer and 
ours to note .. I believe our aquifer water doesn't recharge. If it is 
pumped it is gone. Then what?
Again, thanks to Tom Trail and Shirley Ringo for keeping Moscow and 
Latah County foremost in their interests.
Sincerely,
Roger Hayes
Moscow
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Sat, 7 Mar 2009 11:42:51 -0800 (PST)
> From: Garrett Clevenger <garrettmc at verizon.net>
> Subject: [Vision2020] Sell-Outs: Senator Gary Schroeder and Moscow
> 	City	Councilman Walter Steed
> To: vision2020 at moscow.com
> Message-ID: <446072.61964.qm at web84416.mail.ac2.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
>
> I want to publicly state that Senator Gary Schroeder and Moscow City 
> Councilman Walter Steed are sell-outs. In their zeal to pander to 
> out-of-state developments, they not only sold out Moscow businesses, 
> but the rest of Idaho. They have taken the responsibility voters gave 
> them, and abused that power to financially benefit some at the expense 
> of others.
>
> Walter Steed and Gary Schroeder rewrote Idaho's water appropriation 
> code:
>
> http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2009/S1002Bookmark.htm
>
>
> Basically, they extended a city's water service area to include 
> adjacent out-of-state developments. They took the authority Idaho's 
> Dept of Water Resources (IDWR) has in determining if a city could sell 
> water out of state, and gave that power to cities. I imagine their 
> reasoning is that it is the city's water, not all of Idaho's, and 
> therefore, the city should determine if it wants to sell that water.
>
> I think this bill, though intended to make money for Idaho government, 
> may potentially decrease revenue to government by facilitating 
> out-of-state developments, which will put competitive pressure on 
> Idaho businesses. In essence, the bill is bad for Idaho businesses and 
> may help take away sales tax revenue from Idaho, while using a limited 
> precious resource that should be prioritized for Idaho's use.
>
> Why do we need this law, one that potentially will have serious 
> negative consequences for Idaho, when there already is a mechanism, 
> IDWR, that can allow cities to sell water out of state?
>
> Do any of the adjoining states have a similar law, or will Idaho be 
> the only one making it easier for these other states to use another 
> state's water?
>
> How will this bill benefit Idaho in the long run, especially if Idaho 
> will be committed to supplying water out of state and the only way to 
> break that contract apparently is if the out-of-state recipient does 
> not pay their bill?
>
> Is it really fair to expect Idaho businesses to suffer from 
> out-of-state competition that is facilitated by city governments 
> expecting to profit, though ironically, will potentially have a 
> decreased sales tax revenue due to decreased purchases in those Idaho 
> cities?
>
>
> The problem with this bill is that cities often don't lack the 
> expertise regarding water, and are susceptible to conflicts of 
> interest (corruption) and therefore decisions they make about selling 
> water out of state can be detrimental to not only those cities, but 
> the rest of Idaho.
>
> IDWR, on the other hand, is accountable to the whole state. They can 
> be more unbiased in regards to seeing the bigger picture of selling 
> water out of state. They are trained to understand implications of 
> opening the floodgates. They are obligated to hold public hearings to 
> weigh all the pros and cons before making their decision.
>
> Water is too important to be treated as a common commodity. Misuse of 
> water can affect too many people to be treated as expendable. People 
> are too susceptible to corruption to not give selling water the utmost 
> importance and safeguards to prevent misusing it.
>
> Senator Gary Schroeder wrote this bill at the urging of our city 
> councilman Walter Steed. They wrote the bill because Moscow is faced 
> with the Hawkins mega-mall. The city agreed to sell water to Hawkins 
> but that sale would need to be approved by IDWR. I believe Gary 
> Schroeder and Walter Steed want to circumvent IDWR's authority to be 
> the deciding factor, perhaps because they fear IDWR will not approve 
> the sale because public pressure will be enormous for IDWR not to 
> approve the sale. Instead of letting the entity that historically has 
> been the ones responsible for managing Idaho's water, they want to 
> give that power to cities.
>
> Walter Steed was elected with the help of the Greater Moscow Alliance, 
> a group representing developers in our region. The president of GMA, 
> Steve Busch, owns land across the road from the potential Hawkins 
> mega-mall in Washington. I believe Steve Busch's land value will 
> increase if Hawkins is built. Thus, Steve Busch has a financial 
> interest in ensuring this development occurs. That being the case, he 
> has an interest in helping get people supportive of him into office, 
> and the people he helps elect, in this case Walter Steed, have an 
> interest in helping Steve Busch. Thus, Walter Steed encouraged Senator 
> Gary Schroeder to write S1002 to facilitate corridor development. Gary 
> Schroeder, for some reason, feels a need to encourage out-of-state 
> developments and doesn't think IDWR should be responsible for deciding 
> if water should be sold out of state.
>
> Though Steve Busch and Walter Steed stand to gain from Hawkins being 
> built, Moscow businesses may suffer from this out-of-state competitor, 
> thus Moscow tax revenue may suffer, too, and thus these people have 
> done a tremendous disservice to Idaho, all while allowing out-of-state 
> developments to use Idaho's limited water.
>
> I am a farmer and have a great appreciation for water, as we need it 
> to grow our crops. I am very concerned that by opening the floodgates 
> by allowing cities to sell this precious commodity out of state, 
> without the proper oversight of the rest of Idaho, we will see a 
> misuse of this limited resource. Moscow is not much different from the 
> rest of Idaho. The concerns we have regarding facilitating 
> out-of-state development by selling them this limited resource without 
> the proper oversight should concern all Idahoans, as they potentially 
> will face a similar future at some point, which potentially can affect 
> the rest of Idaho.
>
> These out-of-state developments can sell for a profit the water Idaho 
> sells them, as there doesn't seem to be any way to prevent them from 
> doing so. Hawkins, for example, may get 65 acre feet of water per 
> year. They would be responsible for selling it to the businesses in 
> their mall. Potentially, they may make a profit doing that.
>
> If this bill is passed, the city may extend water services beyond 
> Hawkins. In other words, they are more likely going to sell more of 
> Idaho's water to more developments in the corridor, leading to even 
> more competitive pressure on Moscow businesses.
>
> Walter Steed and Gary Schroeder should be ashamed of bending over to 
> developments in the Whitman County corridor. Instead of representing 
> Idaho, its businesses and its water, they obviously feel a need to 
> serve out-of-state interests instead. If they really wanted to stand 
> up for Moscow businesses, they would not be making it easier for 
> corridor development. I assume its because they want the corridor to 
> be developed. I suggest they leave their Idaho posts, and go to work 
> in Washington, instead of continuing their disservice here.
>
> This bill will be heard by the Idaho House Resources and Conservation 
> Committee on March 9. If Walter Steed and Gary Schroeder didn't have 
> so much pride in their bill, they would testify to the committee and 
> ask them not pass it because they have seen the light, and realized 
> this bill is unneeded, and potentially very harmful to Idaho.
>
> I doubt they will, though, as Norm Semanko, the chairman of Idaho's 
> Republican Party, who also happens to be the Executive Director and 
> General Counsel of the "Idaho Water Users" Association (they are more 
> like water pushers), will testify in support of the bill, as they 
> stand to financially benefit from it.
>
> In a double dose of corruption, to have the person who has a big 
> influence over Idaho Republican elected officials' future encouraging 
> a yes vote seems heavy handed. Are Republicans really going to stand 
> up and question this bill, and vote no, if Norm Semanko, who can make 
> or break their political career, is watching and expecting them to 
> vote yes? This conflict of interest should be questioned by all 
> Idahoans, as it shows how deep this bill goes into the power structure 
> of the Republican party.
>
> Our state representatives Tom Trail and Shirley Ringo are against this 
> terrible bill. I think they understand the implications of it, and 
> have more of an ear towards Moscow's businesses, so have questioned 
> why we need this bill. So to balance out my Sell-Out Award given to 
> Walter Steed and Gary Schroeder, I give my Most Valuable Elected 
> Official Award to Tom Trail and Shirley Ringo.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Garrett Clevenger
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
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> End of Vision2020 Digest, Vol 33, Issue 63
> ******************************************
>